‘Superflex is a Danish artists’ group founded in 1993 by Jakob Fenger, Rasmus Nielsen and Bjørnstjerne Christiansen. Superflex describe their projects as Tools, as proposals that invite people to participate in and communicate the development of experimental models that alter the economic production conditions. Often the projects are assisted by experts who bring in their special interest, these tools can then be further used and modified by their users.’
I personally saw their work at the Tate Modern museum in London in 2017. They had a project called One Two Three Swing. It was in the foyer of the museum and they had set up on one side a huge silver swinging ball that people lay under on a sloping hill of coloured striped carpet. On the other side of the foyer they had set up a swings kind of strung together by a web of orange poles. The swings ranged from a single swing to a double and triple, where two or three people swung on one seat.
They have also made some short films for example one being ‘Flooded McDonalds’ which is where they created a life size model of a McDonalds restaurant and then slowly flooded it and filmed almost every angle. Even though it sounds like it would be a pretty random shoot, they did plan every shot and how things would happen. Their website describes the reason behind this project as ‘Flooded McDonald’s hints at the consumer-driven power and influence and impotence of large multinational companies in the face of climate change, questioning with whom ultimate responsibility lies.’
They also had another piece of work that I thought was quite funny and interesting that has been permanently installed in quite a few museums. They have a set amount of coin money that corresponds to the countries currency and they welded them into the ground so that people can’t pick them up.
Another piece I found was ‘SUPERFLEX have replaced a run-down public toilet in Gwangju with a new toilet which in its interior is an exact copy of the exclusive toilet used by the Executive Board of the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. While maintaining the semblance of a normal public toilet, the structure also engages its users in questioning the relationship between original and copy, exclusivity and inclusivity, and, ultimately, the infrastructures of power and everyday uses’
IDEAS: Superflex describe their projects as Tools, as proposals that invite people to participate in and communicate the development of experimental models that alter the economic production conditions. Often the projects are assisted by experts who bring in their special interest, these tools can then be further used and modified by their users.
I find their work interesting mostly because I would not have realised their intention would have been as deep as it was. They said on their website that the intention for the installations in the Tate Modern was to ‘Challenge society’s apathy towards the political, environmental and economic crises of our age. The installation is experienced in three states: apathy, production and movement. The state of apathy compromises a large pendulum suspended by a 20 metre cable from ceiling and swinging above a 770 square metre carpet in a colour scheme inspired by British currency. Occupying the far end of the hall is the state of production, a factory station where swing seats are assembled, stamped and stored prior to distribution and use. Emerging from the state of production, an orange line formed of sets of interconnected, three-seated swings invite and frame the movements of users.
The act of resting in contemplation with the hypnotic pendulum above is set in contrast to the liberating, collaborative experience of swinging together. Over time the work will evolve as the orange line continues to grow and new swings are added into the wider world.’
I don’t know if I can really develop any of these ideas much further because they are all on a very big scale. I only really realised this after researching them and probably should have thought about this point first…
Although possibly having something that people can play with could be a good option! Relating back to the swing sets, I saw many adults having fun as well as kids. So maybe creating a game that helps adults reminisce or just have fun may be a good starting point for an idea!
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